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HP Catalyst Initiative: Serious Games As Sandboxes of Innovation

HP is building a global network of consortia to develop more effective approaches STEM education

Via: Flux - Futurelab and HP Team Up To Launch The HP Catalyst Initiative

HP is building a global network of consortia that is developing more effective approaches to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The goal is to create international collaborative “sandboxes” of innovation that explore the future of STEM education —a future where students use their technical and creative ingenuity to address urgent social challenges in their communities and around the world.

By bringing together organizations that now work independently to create a global network of consortia that provide a cohesive, student-centered approach to STEM+ education, HP can be a catalyst for innovation that improves student performance. Through this initiative, HP is joining education leaders in collaborative ventures that address STEM+ education in new ways.

The HP Catalyst Initiative is funding up to five consortia in 2010. Each focuses on a specific innovation theme for transforming STEM education.

Here are the 5 Innovation Themes:

• The Multi-Versity. This consortium investigates and demonstrates new and best practices in online education for STEM students and the professional development of instructional faculty. The long-term goal is to provide students with new learning opportunities from a variety of institutions that can be applied toward certification and degrees.

This consortium will be lead by the Sloan Consortium (USA).

• Pedagogy 3.0. This consortium creates new models of teacher preparation that will better equip teachers to facilitate 21st century learning experiences for students. Projects engage new teachers during their pre-service and induction years, plus in-service master teachers, teacher education faculty, and engineering/science content experts and faculty. The long-term goal is to prepare and retain more STEM+ teachers, enhance the STEM+ expertise of master teachers and faculty, and improve student success in pursuing STEM+ degrees.

This consortium will be led by Futurelab (UK)

• Global Collaboratory. This consortium enables students to participate in collaborative problem-solving to address urgent social challenges using the power of collaborative grid computing. This theme builds on the HP/UNESCO Brain Gain Initiative.

This consortium will be led by the CSIR Meraka Institute (South Africa)

• The New Learner. This consortium engages formal and informal education institutions as they explore how to build a network of learning opportunities for students. The goal is to create new models of student-driven STEM+ learning that are engaging, lead to higher school completion rates, and promote “learning how to learn.”

This consortium will be led by the Agastya International Foundation (India)

• Measuring Learning. This consortium develops and demonstrates new approaches for using technology to measure STEM+ competencies that are often not assessed in school.

This consortium will be led by Carnegie Mellon University (USA)

How to Apply

STEP 1: Download and read the Request for Proposals. To facilitate writing the proposal, you may also download the proposal questions (MS Word Format) and use this document as a template for your proposal.

STEP 2: Download and review the HP Catalyst grant equipment catalog.

STEP 3: Register intent to apply before 30 June 2010. To register your intent to apply, please visit the online application website hosted by ISTE.org. Registrants will be provided with additional instructions about the online application link and process.

STEP 4: Download the HP “Terms & Conditions of Grant” (NOTE: these documents are currently being updated and shall be prompted June 1st).

Proposals due: 5:00 pm PT, 9 August 2010

Recipient announcements: 3 September 2010